Container pouch and bib



Zak A yw Filed Nov. 12, 1959 3,032,773 CONTAINER POUCH AND BIB Thomas E. Piazze, Mount Vernon, Ohio, assignor to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York 9 Filed Nov. 12, 1959, Ser. No. 852,489

2 Claims. (Cl. 9)

This invention relates to packaging and is more particularly concerned with improvements in a combination device which is adapted to form a bag or pouch for a quantity of a food product such as popcorn or the iikc and which is also adapted to serve as a bib to protect the person while the product is being eaten.

In the marketing of popcorn and similar food products which are customarily consumed at or near the place of purchase such as fair grounds, amusement parks, aheaters and the like, the product is usually dispensed in a paper bag or carton which the customer carries about or holds until the product is consumed and then discards. This involves a troublesome problem after the performances or at the end of the event at which the product is sold, of cleaning up the debris resulting from the sale of the product. Not only must the discarded containers be collected, but also a substantial amount of the product which is spilled by careless handling of the containers, since most often many of the consumers are small children who cannot be expected to exercise care in handling the containers. Various efforts to eliminate this problem have been tried but have been unsuccessful because of the failure to provide a dispensing package of a type which would reduce the amount of spilled product and also reduce the number of containers discarded.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide a specially designed pouch-like container for dispcnsing popcorn or similar products at fair grounds, amusement parks and the like in which the product may be initially enclosed for delivery to the consumer, and when opened up, so as to make the product accessible, the pouch may be supported on the body of the consumer in a convenient position for eating the product, thereby reducing the amount of the product which is wasted most often by spilling when it is dispensed in an open bag, carton or the like.

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a product dispensing device formed from a sheet of plastic film which comprises a pouch adapted to receive a quantity of a product, such as popcorn, and a closure flap therefor which is in the form of a section of a sheet with provision for opening up therein a hole sufiicient to pass the head of a pzrson therethrough so as to suspend the pouch on the front of the person with the closure flap forming a bib.

It is a still more specific ob ect of the invention to provide a device for dispensing a quantity of popcorn or a similar product which comprises an elongate sheet of flexible plastic film having a pouch-like pocket formation at one end thereof for receiving a quantity of the product and an end portion extending in the form of a flap which is perforated on a line terminating within the edges so that a hole may be readily opened in the sheet.

to permit the same to be passed over the head so as to suspend the pouch forming end thereof on the body in a convenient position for removing the product from the pouch with the flap portion protecting the body of the user during consumption of the product.

It is another object of the invention to provide a combination pouch and bib device for dispensing popcorn or similar food products which may be very economically produced, with adequate provision for printing advertising material thereon, and which may be made sufliciently attractive, especially to small children, to induce substantial numbers of initial users to save the empty devices for further use at home.

These and other objects and advantages 'of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the combination pouch and bib and the method of forming the same which. are shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a combination pouch and bib which embodies therein the principal features of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross section taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1 with the'pouch formation in partially opened condition and with the thickness of the material exaggerated;

FIGURE 3 is a view illustrating the use of the pouch and bib; and.

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a method of forming a series of the combination pouch and bib devices in a continuous operation.

As shown in FIGURE 1, thecombination pouch and bib 10 may be formed from a single elongate sheet of generally rectangular form, preferably a film of a plastic material such as polyethylene, Pliofilm, or the like. The sheet is folded to provide a back or bib forming section 11 and a front or pouch forming section 12 which cooperates with the one end of the bib forming section 11 to form a pouch-like enclosure 13 for receiving a quantity of the product, indicated at 14 in FIGURE 3. The pouch 13 may be conveniently formed by folding one end of the sheet about the transverse fold line 15, to bring the end portion of the back 11 and the front sheet 12 into superimposed relation and thereafter sealing the side edges by forming side seams 16 and 16' in any convenient manner. This, of course, provides a pouch-like container 13 which is open at 17 at a side facing in the direction of the other end of the sheet 11. The back sheet 11 is of substantially greater length than the front sheet 12 so as to provide a bib forming portion 18 extending from the pouch 13 at one end to the other end 19 thereof. A line of perforations 20 is provided in the bib forming portion 18 which is preferably on a longitudinal center line as shown and which extends a substantial distance in the bib portion 18 with its ends terminating short of the top edge 19 and the mouth 1'7 of the pouch 13. Preferably, circular apertures 21 and 22 are provided at the ends of the line of perforations 20 so that when the perforations 20 are torn loose to provide an opening in the bib portion 18 of sufficient size to receive the head of a person, the sheet material will not tear out beyond the ends of the line 20.

A method of forming the combination bib and pouch 10 is illustrated in FIGURE 4 in which a pro-printed web 25 of a suitable plastic film material, for example polyethylene, is pulled through a folding device indicated at 26 by the pull rollers 27. A marginal portion of the web 25 is continuously folded over on the adjoining portions of the web after which the web 25 is advanced by an intermittent motion to the punch 28 which perforates the bib forming portion of the web to provide the holes 21 and 22. The web then moves to the perforating device 29 which connects the holes 21 and 22 by a line of perforations 20, after which the web is fed, by the rolls 30, to a hot knife 31 which cuts off successive sections of the proper size to form the individual devices 10, and simultaneously forms a side seam along the pouch forming portions of the trailing edge of the device 10 which is cut off the end of the web and the leading edge of the portion of the web which forms the next succeeding device 10. The method, of course, results in a continuous 3 production of the devices in a rapid and economical manner.

In using the device, the food product is initially placed in the pouch section 13, and, if it is not immediately delivered to the consumer, the bib forming portion 18 is employed as a closure flap and folded around the pouch 13 so as to form a neat package of the same size as the pouch section. It mav be desirable. when the product is not intended for immediate use, to close the open side or mouth 17 of the pouch section by a seam of the type which may be broken without tearing the material. This may be a temporary seam formed by heat sealing on a line spaced a sufiicient distance from the margin of the sheet 12 at the mouth 17 to permit the user to grasp the two sheets of material and pull them apart so as to break the temporary seal or seam and open the pouch. Either before or after the device is opened up to provide access to the products in the pouch 13, the perforation line 20 may be torn so as to provide an opening, as indicated at 35 in FIGURE 3, for receiving the head of a person and thus enable the device to be suspended from the neck with the pouch portion 13 resting on the front of the person in a convenient position for removal of the product from the pouch with either hand.

In the form of the device illustrated the opening 35 is provided by means of the line of perforations 20. However, the opening may be provided by cutting through the material when the device is fabricated or some other form of weakened tearing line may be provided to facilitate the use of the device as a bib.

The device may, of course, be made sufficiently attractive, especially to small children, to induce the user to save the device for further use rather than discard the same when the pouch 13 has been emptied of the product. The device provides sufiicient space for a substantial amount of advertising material which makes it attractive to the retailer who may wish to advertise his product, his place of business, or the like, since it is likely to be displayed on the person and thus attract attention.

While particular materials and specific details of construction have been referred to in describing the form of the device illustrated, it will be understood that other materials and different details of construction may be resorted to within the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A one-piece combination merchandise pouch and bib device comprising an elongate, generally rectangular sheet of flexible plastic film material having a portion at one end thereof folded over upon adjoining portions ard having its side edges permanently sealed to the side edges of said adjoining portions so as to provide a pouch-like container for receiving a quantity of a product with a dispensing opening facing in the direction of the opposite end of the sheet and the edge of the opening being connected to the sheet by a seal which may be readily broken by pulling apart the material where the seal is formed, the remainder of the sheet forming an elongate closure flap of a length suificient to be wrapped about the pouch when it is filled with the product so as to form a package, said flap being generally rectangular and provided with an elongate tearing line extending in a direction generally parallel with said side edges and with its ends terminating in inwardly spaced relation to the end edges of said flap-so that an opening of suflicient size to accommodate the head of a person may be readily formed by tearing on said line thereby enabling the device to be suspended on the body of the person with the pouch adjacent the bottom end thereof in convenient position i for the person to remove with his hand the contents of the pouch when the seal at the'dispensing opening is broken.

2. A one-piece combination merchandise pouch and bib device comprising an elongate, generally rectangular sheet of flexible plastic film material having a portion at one end thereof folded over upon adjoining portions and having its side edges permanently sealed to the side edges of the sheet so as to provide a pouch-like container with a dispensing opening facing toward the other end of the sheet for receiving a quantity of a product, the remainder of the sheet forming an elongate closure flap of a length sufiicient to be wrapped about the pouch when it is filled with the product so as to form a package and having a line of perforations extending lengthwise of said flap with the ends thereof terminating at apertures of substantial size which are spaced inwardly of the end edge portions of the flap, said line of perforations being adapted to be torn to provide an opening extending between said terminal apertures which is of a size to receive the head of a person thereby enabling the device to be supported on the body of the person, with the pouch extending across the bottom end thereof in convenient position for the person to remove with his hand through the dispensing opening of the pouch the product placed therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,375,655 Irvin May 8, 1945 2,616,598 Sexton Nov. 4, 1952 2,722,685 Lucas Nov. 8, 1955 2,763,867 Chagnon Sept. 25, 1956 2,782,420 Barager Feb. 26, 1957 2,878,849 Lingenfelter et al Mar. 24, 1959 2,881,447 Shackelford Apr. 14, 1959 

